Israel Active

Less than ten brave young men on Kibbutz Kerem Shalom held 100 Hamas terrorists at bay for more than 6 hours, despite being low on ammunition, until the Israeli Army came in and rescued them.

Here are some sites where newsletter readers can donate to Israeli organizations that provide vital help to Israelis at this difficult time.  Many thanks to those who have already contributed.   Friends of the IDF (US donors): or IDF Soldiers Fund in Israel:  (select the English speakers’ option)   American Friends of Magen David Adom (US donors): or Magen David Adom (Israel):   Zaka (US donors):  or (Israeli donors):   United Hatzalah: Leket Food Israel: JNF USA - Orthodox Union -   Hadassah Hospital Israel: Laniado Hospital (Netanya)

Israeli civilians heroically fought back against Hamas on October 7. Citizens, police officers, and soldiers, at home and on base, scrambled, improvised, and fought back fiercely. These brave citizens not only saved countless lives: These Israelis saved Israel.

Tel Aviv University (TAU) has launched the gap-year program Exploration, Leadership, and Innovation (ELI). Taught in English from Aug 2024, students can choose 5 or 10-months, and from 5 tracks, including Jewish Peoplehood, and Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

An orthodox Jewish man stood by the counter of El Al Airlines at JFK airport and paid for anyone's flight who presented him with an IDF call-up notice. He paid for 250 tickets.

A Bedouin IDF Lieutenant Colonel saved the lives of the wives and children of IDF officers at the division's Re'im base. He removed his IDF uniform, called to the infiltrating terrorists in Arabic, and then eliminated them when they emerged, thinking he was also a Hamas terrorist.

Instead of sheltering during the Hamas rocket barrage on Oct 7, Inbal Rabin-Liberman, head of the security at Kibbutz Nir Am, armed her 12-person team. They were then able to defend against the infiltrating Hamas terrorists for almost three and a half hours until the IDF arrived.

Rachel and David Edri survived a harrowing 20-hour ordeal, holed up with terrorists in their home in Ofakim. Rachel offered refreshments to the five terrorists, and later a meal, engaged them in small talk, playing for time until an elite IDF unit arrived and eliminated the terrorists.

Lior Raz, Tsahi Halevi and Idan Amedi are among the actors of the popular Israeli TV series Fauda who have joined the hundreds of thousands of IDF reservists. Lior posted “headed down south to join hundreds of brave "brothers in arms" volunteers”. They extracted families from the bombarded town of Sderot.

The family of 23-year-old IDF Lt. Roi Nahari, killed by Hamas, donated his organs to five patients at Israel’s Beilinson Hospital. His liver went to a 44-year-old mother of five, suffering from hepatitis for 30 years.